Former SA Sports Medicine Association boss Daniel Luke Clark sacked from job at Bunbury City Council after theft revelations

The ex-boss of a major SA not-for-profit has been sacked from his new job after revelations he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from his previous employer.

The former boss of a South Australian not-for-profit who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars he stole from the organisation at strip clubs, massage parlours and on other adult entertainment has been sacked from his job in Western Australia.

Daniel Luke Clark was sacked from his role as the sport and recreation leader at Bunbury City Council after pleading guilty to stealing $216,380 from the South Australian Sports Medicine Association between December 2015 and December 2020 while employed as its executive officer.

Clark will be sentenced in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court next month. Picture: Supplied

The Advertiser understands Clark, 41, who pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dishonestly deal with property without owner’s consent and one count of dishonest dealings with documents in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court last month, spent about $200,000 of the stolen money at strip clubs and massage parlours over the five-year period.

Bunbury City Council chief executive Malcolm Osborne confirmed Clark’s employment was terminated last month after his guilty pleas.

“The City was unaware of any investigation or charges relating to Mr Clark upon his appointment or before his arrest,” Mr Osborne said.

Mr Osborne said he was not aware of any wrongdoing by Clark while he was employed at the council.

Mr Osborne said “proper recruitment processes were followed” before Clark was hired, including a police check.

“The charges and subsequent court proceedings are not related to the City, and after becoming aware of Mr Clark’s charges an internal audit and additional due diligence activities were carried out by the City with no discrepancies found,” he said.

“As the matter is still going through the court process, the City will not be making any further comment at this time.”

Clark had worked at the council since April 2021 – a month after leaving SASMA.

SASMA became aware of the extent of Clark’s theft during a standard review of the organisation’s expenses in 2022, at which point detectives were notified.

He was asked to step down as executive officer after SASMA learned he had spent thousands of dollars of the organisation’s money at similar venues during a trip to the UK.

It is understood Clark agreed to repay the money spent on that trip but did not disclose the total amount he had stolen over his five years in charge when he left the organisation.

On July 6, Western District CIB detectives extradited Clark from Western Australia to face the charges.

He was initially charged with more than 250 separate counts, which were later condensed to 11.

On his LinkedIn profile, Clark describes himself as an “experienced manager with a demonstrated history of working in the medical, allied health and sports industries” and a “strong NGO and non-profit organisation professional”.

Clark will be sentenced in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court next month.